/a— 


Duke  University  Libraries 

Come  thou  with 
Conf  Pam  l2mo  #588 

DeH03Eb03W 


No   71 

COME  THOU  WITH  US, 

AND  WE  WILL  DO  THEE  GOOD 

BY  REV.  J.  H.  MARTIN',    KN'OXVILLE,  TKNN  . 

This  was  the  kind  invitation  given  by  Moses  to  Hobab, 
his  brother-in-law,  when  the  children  of  Israel  were 
passing  through  the  wilderness  on  their  way  to  the 
promised  land.  "And  Moses  said  unto  Hobab,  the  son 
of  Raguel  the  Midianit<\  Moses*  father-in-law,  we  are 
journeying  unto  the  place  of  which  the  Lord  said,  I 
will  give  it  you :  come  thou  with  us,  and  we  will  do 
thee  good  ;  fur  the  Lord  hath  spoken  good  concerning 
Israel."     Num.  10:  29. 

Wo  may  regard  the  journey  of  the  Israelites  to  Canaan 
as  a  type  or  emblem  of  the  journey  of  Christians  to 
heaven.  The  former  were  advancing  to  conquer  and 
possess  the  promised  land.  They  had  a  definite  country 
in  view  as  their  dwelling  place  and  inheritance,  thte  ob- 
ject of  their  desire,  and  the  end  of  their  journey.  In  like 
manner  there  is  a  place  or  country,  which  has  been  prom- 
ised to  Christians  as  their  eternal  rest  and  inheritance. 
It  is  called  in  Scripture  a  better  country,  that  is,  an  heav- 
enly one.  far  more  attractive,  desirable  and  glorious 
than  the  earthly  Canaan,  which  was  a  type  of  it. 

The  life  of  the  Christian  is  a  journey  to  the.heavenly 
Canaan.  To  that  celestial  land  all  true  believers  are 
traveling.  This  journey  commences  with  the  conviotion 
of  sin,  produced  by  the  application  of  the  law  to  the 
conscience  of  the  sinner  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Conviction- 
of  sin  drives  him  to  the  cross  pf  Christ,  where  by  faith 
he  is  forgiven  and  accepted  in  the  Beloved.     His  con? 


version  is  [followed  by  baptism  and  union  with  (Jod'n 
people,  the  company  of  heaven-bound  travelers,  "With 
them  he  walks  in  the  celestial  road,  runs  the  race  set 
before  them  presses  forward  in  the  path  of  duty,  makes 
advancement  in  spirituality,  knowledge,  love,  holiness 
and  conformity  to  the  divine  image.  God  goes  before 
his  people,  providentially  and  graciously,  as  their  Guide, 
in  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night. 
Their  journey  terminates  at  death,  the  end  of  the  race, 
the  close  of  the  day  of  life,  and  is  followed  by  an  abun- 
dant entrance  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  the  duty,  both  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  of 
Christians  generally,  to  hrvite  others  to  journey  with 
them.  Heirs  of  the  heavenly  inheritance,  and  travel- 
ing to  that  land,  the  friends  of  Christ  should  invite  their 
fellow-men  to  accompany  them,  and  share  in  the  bene- 
fits and  happiness  in  store  for  them.  "And  the  Spirit 
and  the  bride  say,  Come.  And  let  him  that  heareth  say, 
Come.  And  let  him  that  is  athirst,  come.  And  whoso- 
ever will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely."  It 
should  be  a  pleasure  to  invite  sinners  to  the  Gospel 
feast ;  to  become  members  of  the  fold  of  Christ,  and 
share  m  the  benefits,  privileges,  and  joys  of  his  people  ; 
to  taste  of  divine  grace  and  love,  and  all  the  good  things 
which  God  bestows  on  his  children  in  this  life,  and  to 
become  heirs  of  his  kingdom  and  glory  in  eternity. 

The  invitation  to  be  given  to  sinners  is,  "Come  thou 
with  us."  To  comply  with  this  invitation  is,  to  forsake 
the  world,  and  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God ;  to  re- 
nounce the  company  of  the  irreligious  and  ungodly,  and 
join  one's  self  to  the  people  of  the  Lord ;  to  repent  of  sin, 
undergo  a  change  of  heart,  begin  the  Christian  race, 
profess  faith  in  the  Saviour,  be  baptized,  and  become  a 
member  of  the  church.  It  it  is  to  come  out  from  the 
world,  and  be  separate,  %take  a  decided  stand  on  the 


rem 

8 

Lord's  side,  walk  in  fellowship  and  love  with  his  disci- 
ples, be  identified  -with  Christ  and  his  cause,  keep  his 
ordinances  and  commandments,  bear  the  fruits  of  right- 
eousness, and  make  effort  to  extend  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom.  It  is  to  commence  the  life  of  a  Christian  pil- 
grim ;  to  join  the  company  of  travelers  who  are  jour- 
neying to'the  heavenly  country,  and  go  with  them  m 
the  way  that  leads  thither.  In  short,  to  accept  this  in- 
vitation is,  to  join  the  disciples  of  Christ  with  true 
brotherly  affection,  and  cleave^to  themjas  Ruth  cleaved 
to  Naomi,  saying,  "AY  hither  thou  goest,  I  will  go  ;  and 
where  thou  lodgest,  I  will  lodge :  thy  people  shall  be 
my  people,  and  thy  God  my  God  :  where  thon  diost, 
will  I  die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried  i  the  Lord  do  so  to 
me,   and  more   also,  if  aught  but  death  part  thee  and 

me."  ,  ..       ' 

The  argument  which  Moses  employed  to  prevail  with 
Hobab  was,  the  prospect  of  advantage  which  he  display- 
ed before'  his  mind  :"Come  thou  with  us,  and  we  will  do 
thee  good :  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  good  concerning 
Israel/'  We  are  his  chosen  people  ;  we  are  in  cove- 
nant with  him;  he  has  rioh  blessings  in  store  for  us  ; 
he  has  promised  us  a  goodly  land  as  our  inheritance,  and 
we  are  journeying  to  the  place  of  which  he  said,  I  wil 
give  it  vou.  We  expect  great  things  lor  ourselves,  and 
'if  thou  wilt  go  with  us,  we  promise  thee  n  participation 
in  all  our  benefits  and  privileges. 

In  like  manner  we,  as  Christians,  are  enabled  and 
authorized  to  preseni  a  similar  inducement  to  sinners, 
to  prevail  with  them  to  unite  with  us  in  our  journey  to 
heaven.  It  is  the  promise  that  they  shall  be  partakers 
with  us  of  all  the  good  which  God  has  in  reserve  for  us. 
They  shall  be  co-heirs  with  us  of  the  heavenly  inheri- 
tance ;  our  lellow-citizens  in  the  divine  kingdom  ;  breth- 
ren of  the  same  family  ;  living  stones  in  the  same  spir- 
itual temple.     They  shall  be  m  all  respects  as  we  are. 


entitled  to  the  same  rights,. privileges,  joys  and  honors, 
and  shall  receive  the  same  blissful,  glorious,  and  eter- 
nal reward  hereafter. 

First,  then,  we  say  to  every  impenitent  sinner,  Come 
thou  with  us,  and  thou  shalt  be  delivered  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  The  day  of  judgment  will  be  the  great  day  of 
wrath,  terror  and  destruction  to  the  wicked  and  ungodly. 
It  will  come  a-s  a  thief  in  the  night,  "in  the  which 
the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  and  the 
elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  the  earth  also, 
and  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be  burned  up." — 
The  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  all  the  ho- 
ly angels  with  him  ;  the  trump  of  the  archangel  shall 
sound,  and  the  dead  shall  arise,  and  stand  before  him ; 
all  aatibns  will  Ije  gathered  in  his  presence.  He  will 
then  proceed  to  dispense  justice  to  every  one  according 
to  the  cl  eds  done  in  the  body.  Against  the  wicked,  un- 
believing and  disobedient  he  shall  utter  a  decree  of  con- 
demnatiou  and  eternal  death.  He  shall  say  to  them  on 
his  left  hand,  "Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  ever- 
lasting tiro,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels." — 
This  sentence  will  be  immediately  carried  into  execu- 
tion. Mighty  angels  will  be  ready  as  the  officers  of  jus- 
tice, who  shall  seize  the  guilty,  trembling,  despairing 
sinner,  and  consign  him  to  the  flames  of  perdition. 

Such  is  the  dreadful  doom  that  awaits  the  ungodly. — 
Hence  the  apostle  Paul,  after  affirming  that  we  must  all 
appear  before  the  j  udgment-seat  of  Christ,  adds :  "Know- 
ing, therefore,  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  we  persuade  men. " 
We  warn  them  of  the  awful  consequences  of  continued 
impenitence  and  unbelief:  we  reason  with  them  of 
righteousness,  temperance  and  judgment  to  come;  we 
endeavor  to  persuade  them  to  repent  of  their  sins,  be- 
lieve in  Christ,  and  devote  themselves  to  his  service  ; 
we  beseech  them  to  be  reconciled  to  God  and  obey  his 
commandments,  -that  they  may  escape  his  wrath,  and 


live.  For  it  is  promised  to  the  believer  that  he  shall  be 
delivered  in  that  day.  lie  shall  not  come. into  condem- 
nation, and  be  involved  in  the  curse  and  torments  of  the 
kicked.  He  shall  not  go  away  into  everlasting  pun- 
ishment, and  have  his  part  in  the  lake  that  burneth 
with  fire  and  brimstone,  which  is  tho  second  death. — 
This  happy,  glorious  deliverance  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
this  promised  security  and  freedom  from  divine  wrath 
and  eternal  suffering,  is  a  part  of  the  good  which  God 
has  laid  up  for  his  people,  and  which  is  offered  to  every 
one  as  an  inducement  to  unite  with  them  in  their  celes- 
tial journey.  Host  not  thou,  dear  reader,  desire  to  es- 
cape in  that  day  ?  to  avoid  being  placed  on  the  left  hand 
of  the  judge,  and  hearing  him  pronounce  those  terrible 
words,  "Depart  from  me,  ye  workers  of  iniquity,  1  never 
knew  you  V  If  so,  then  come  thou  with  us  ;  cast  in  thy 
lot  with  the  peoprle  ef  God  ;  unite  with  them  in  obeying 
his  law,  observing  his  ordinances,  and  living  to  his  glo- 
ry ;  become  their  fellow-traveler  in  the  journey  ty 
them,  and  thou  shah  be  saved  in  that  da 

Come  thou  with  us,  and  thou  ah  alt  be  the  recipient  of 
all  the  blessings  and  favors,  privileges  and  benefits,  joys 
and  honors  bestowed  on  Christians  in  this  life.  What 
these  are,  we  learn  from  various  parti  of  Scripture. — 
They  include  pardon  and  righteousness,  divine  knowl- 
edge and  wisdom,  regeneration  and  adoption,  the  gift 
and  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  citizenship  in  God's 
kingdom,  the  dignity  and'blessedness  of  divine  souship, 
fellowship  with  God,  Christ,  angels  and  saints  on  earth 
and  in  heaven,  sanetification  and  puritv,  grace  to  resist 
temptation  and  strength  to  endure  trials,  inward  p< 
comfort,  hone  and,  joy.  Such  are  the  rich  bless 
high  estate,  and  precious  privileges,  of  the  people  of  God 
in  the  world,  and  whoever  unites  with  them  shall  share 
in  these  benefits  and  mercies. 

Com*  thou  with  us,  and  it  shall  be  well  with  thee,  not 


only  in  life,  but  in  death/  The  care  and  goodness  of 
God  to  his  people  extend  to  them  in  the  closing  scenes 
of  their  earthly  existence.  He  is  their  heavenly  shep- 
herd, who  will  never  leave  them  nor  forsake  them.  As 
they  draw  near  their  last  end,  He  will  support  and  com- 
fort them  with  his  gracious  presence,  guide  them  with 
his  light  in  their  passage  through  the  dark  valley,  cheer 
and  animate  them  with  the  hope  of  immortality,  take 
away  from  their  minds  all  doubt,  fear,  and  trouble,  and 
fill  them  with  peace,  joy  and  assurance  of  victory. — 
"Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the  upright;  for  the 
end  of  that  man  is  peace."  "Precious  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord  is  the  death  of  his  saints."  "Blessed  are  tho 
dead  who  die  in  tho  Lord."  The  dying  Stephen  was 
favored  with  a  vision  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  son  of 
man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God,  to  whom  he 
prayed,  saying,  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirt.  Paul  de- 
parted with  exultation  and  assurance  of  a  .crown  of* 
righteousness  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge, 
should  give  him  in  that  day.  Does  not  every  one  cherish 
the  feeling  of  Balaam,  "let  me  die  the  death  of  the 
righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  belike  his?"  Reader, 
suck  a  death  may  be  thine,  if  thou  wilt  live  a  righteous 
and  godly  life. 

Another  reason  for  becoming  one  of  God's  people  is, 
that  to  them  is  promised  a  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
It  is  true  there  shall  be  a  general  resurrection,  both/)f 
tho  just  and  unjust.  But  there  will  be  a  wide  difference 
between  them.  They  "that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the 
earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to 
shame  and  everlasting  contempt."  Christ  said,  "The  hour 
is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall 
come  forth  :  they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resur- 
rection of  life  ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  re- 
surrection of  damnation."  The  resurrection  of  the  right- 
eous will  be  to  a  blissful,  glorious,  immortal  existence  in. 


ke&foa.  The  wicked  shall  be  raised  up  only  to  be  judged 
and  to  be  cast,  both  soul  and  body,  into  hell.  (  The 
dead  in  Christ  shall  rise.first,  and  shall  be  distinguished 
by  the  power,  splendor  and  iaeorruption  of  their  bodies. 
I*hese  will  be  spiritual  aud  immortal,  and  shall  shine 
with  the  "brightness  of  the  sun.  Hence  it  is  said  in 
Revelation,  "Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in 
the  first  resurrection  :  on  such  the  second  death  hath- 
no  power."  Reader,  become  a  disciple  of  Christ,  and 
thou  shalt  have  part  in  the  resurrection  of  his  saints. 

Having  been  raised  from  the  dead,  believers  will  then 
be  acquitted,  justified,  owned  and  accepted  of  God  in  the 
solemn  judicial  trial  that  shall  take  place.  God  has 
spoken  this  good  concerning  them.  He  has"  declared 
that  He  will  separate  the  precious  from  the  vile, 
and  while  he  condemns  and  rejects  the  ungodly,  he  will 
justify  and  save  the  upright.  "They  shall  be  mine, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up 
my  jewels :  audi  will  spare  them,  as  a  man  apareth  his 
own  son  that  stjrveth  him."  Not  one  of  the  Lord's  peo- 
ple shall  perish  in  that  day.  None  of  his  iheep  shall  be 
lost.  For  Christ  said,  '.'I  give  unto  them  eternal  life  ; 
and  they  shall  never  perish,  neitlier  shall  any  pluck 
them  out  of  my  hand."  "Placed  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  judge,  all  liig  followers  sha\l  hear,  from  his  lips 
words  of  approval,  shall  receive  from  his  hands  a  golden 
crown,  and  be  brought  into  full  possession  of  the  heav- 
enly Canaan.  He  shall  say  to  them,  "Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  Does  not  the  reader 
desire  to  be  remembered  with  his  disciples,  and  be  jus- 
tified and  accepted  with  them  in  that  day  ?  Then  join 
thyseljf  to  them,  and  be  numbered  with  them  in  this 
life. 

Lastly.  Come  thdu  with  us.  and  thou  shalt  participate 
in  the  eternal  life  and  happiness  of  the  people  of  God  in 


heav&i.  F«ter  speaks  of  himself  as  a  partaker  of  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed.  Ged  has  in  store  for  hia 
children  boundless  and  everlasting  felicity — all  kinds 
and  degrees  of  blessedness,  and  even  sources  qf  enjoy- 
ment which  it  is  now  impossible  for  the  imagination  to 
conceive.  "For  it  is  written,  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
Heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the 
things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love 
him."  He  has  prepared  for  them  a  city,  a  kingdom,  a 
paradise,  shining  garments,  bright  crowns,  and  harps 
of  gold.  He  shall  give  them  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life, 
and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters,  and 
shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes.  They  shall 
see  the  face  ,of  God,  behold  the  glory  of  the  Lamb,  sur- 
round his  throne,  and  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his 
temple.  We  .say  to  the  sinner,  "Come  thou  with  us," 
and  all  this  good,  this  happiness,  this  glory*  honor  and 
immortality  shall  be  thine.  Thou  shalt  receive  an  hun- 
dred fold  in  this  present  time,  and  in  the  world  to  come, 
everlasting  life. 

HYMN.         m 

There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood., 

Drawn  from  JmmanueFs  veins, " 
And  sinners,  plung'd  beneath  that  flood, 

Lose  all  their  guilty  stains. 

The  dying  thief  rejoiced  to  see 

That  fountain  in  his  day  ; 
And  there  may  I,  as  vile_as  he, 

Wash  all  my  sins  away. 


Hoilinger  Corp. 
pH8.5 


